Gusto Review — Payroll Built for Trade Businesses That Don't Have an HR Department

Real Pricing

⚠ Simple tier is bare-bones for single-state businesses. Plus adds multi-state filing and time tracking. Contractor-only 1099 payments cost $6/month per contractor. Annual pricing may be available.

What It Actually Does

Gusto handles everything related to paying your crew and staying compliant with tax agencies. You enter employee hours or salaries, Gusto calculates the pay including overtime and deductions, and the money lands in your employees’ bank accounts on payday. At the same time, Gusto calculates, files, and pays all your payroll taxes — federal, state, and local. You don’t touch the tax paperwork. It just happens.

Beyond payroll, Gusto manages new hire reporting to your state, generates W-2s at the end of the year for employees and 1099s for subcontractors, handles benefits administration including health insurance and 401k, integrates workers’ compensation insurance so you pay as you go instead of a giant annual premium, and provides employees with a self-service portal where they can access pay stubs, tax forms, and time-off requests without asking you.

For contractors who employ both W-2 employees and 1099 subcontractors — pool contractors, general contractors, large landscapers — Gusto handles both in the same system. Employees get direct deposit, tax withholding, and benefits. Subcontractors get 1099 payments tracked and reported. Both show up in the same payroll run.

Why Payroll Software Matters

Payroll is the one financial function you cannot afford to get wrong. The IRS and your state tax agency do not care that you were on a job site when a payroll tax deadline passed. The penalties for late or incorrect payroll tax filings are automatic and substantial. A single missed deadline can cost hundreds of dollars. Multiple missed deadlines can trigger audits and much larger penalties.

Contractors who run payroll manually or through a CPA are gambling that nothing falls through the cracks. The CPA files your quarterly returns, but only if you remember to send them the numbers on time. The CPA calculates your tax deposits, but only if their system catches that you hired a new employee in a different state. When the CPA makes a mistake — and they do, especially during tax season when they’re overloaded — you’re still responsible for the penalties.

Gusto removes that risk by automating the entire process. The software knows the tax rates and deposit schedules for every jurisdiction you operate in. It calculates what you owe. It files the returns. It makes the deposits. You don’t have to remember any deadlines because the software doesn’t forget them.

For the peace of mind alone, $40 a month is worth it. Contractors lose sleep over payroll tax compliance. Gusto lets you stop thinking about it.

What It Costs

The Simple plan at $40 a month plus $6 per employee is the right starting point for most small trade shops. It handles payroll in a single state with direct deposit, tax filing, and W-2 and 1099 preparation. If all your employees work in one state, this is all you need.

The Plus plan at $60 a month plus $9 per employee adds multi-state filing for contractors who work across state lines, time tracking so employees can clock in and out from their phones, and paid time off management. If you have employees in multiple states or need time tracking, the upgrade is worth it.

The Premium plan at $135 a month plus $16.50 per employee adds dedicated HR support, compliance alerts, and performance review tools. Most trade contractors don’t need this tier.

The per-employee pricing adds up. A 10-person crew at $6 per employee adds $60 a month on top of the base plan. That’s $100 a month on the Simple plan for 10 employees. Compare that to what your CPA charges for quarterly payroll filings and year-end W-2 preparation. In most cases, Gusto costs less than the CPA fees it replaces.

From the Trenches

Payroll software is boring. That’s exactly what you want. Boring means it works the same way every pay period. Boring means your employees get paid on time without drama. Boring means the tax filings go out automatically and you never hear from the IRS about payroll.

Gusto makes payroll almost boring enough to forget about. Set up your crew once, enter their hours each pay period, click run, and walk away. The direct deposits hit on time. The tax filings happen in the background. Your employees check their pay stubs on their phones instead of asking you for them. The only time you think about Gusto is when you hire someone new or run your first payroll of the year and confirm nothing has changed.

For contractors who have been running payroll through a CPA, the transition to Gusto saves money and worry. The CPA still handles your business tax return at year end, and Gusto provides the payroll reports the CPA needs. You stop paying the CPA’s hourly rate for payroll processing that software can do automatically. You stop worrying about whether the quarterly filing went out. The math on this is straightforward: Gusto costs less than what you’re paying now, and it does more with less stress.

Alternatives

• Cheaper: Square Payroll ($35/mo + $6/employee, simpler but fewer features)
• Simpler: QuickBooks Payroll (built into QBO if you already use it, $45/mo + $6/employee)
• More powerful (and more expensive): ADP or Paychex (enterprise payroll with dedicated representatives, much more expensive)